Fans cheer for the Los Angeles Lakers during a preseason game played against the Golden State Warriors at the Citizens Business Bank Area in Ontario on October 5, 2013. (Photo by Rachel Luna/Southern California News Group, file)

Something has changed for the better in Lakerdom, all right. Unfortunately for the fans, it’s not the team’s prospects in the race.

At media day I asked a wisened team official, “What do you think, 30 wins?”

He looked at me as if I was wearing a clown costume.

“Oh, right,” I said. “I don’t know what got into me.”

Coming off last season’s 17-65 record, Las Vegas books have the over-under on Laker wins at 24.5.

It’s a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll. Look at the Timberwolves, the envy of all with their young nucleus of Karl Anthony-Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Zach Lavine, Gorgui Dieng and Shabazz Muhammad. With all of them happening — while the Lakers dedicated last season, not to their kids, but Kobe Bryant’s farewell — Minnesota went 29-53.

If it was Looney Tunes to spend a season saying goodbye, especially to a guy intent on jacking up 17 shots a game as he bade farewell, Kobe made it work his way, as usual. Unfortunately for the Lakes, they had nothing better to do with D’Angelo Russell showing just how much growing up he had to do.

By now Laker fans know it’s not about the win total. That’s what’s different. Once spoiled to the max with ticket prices to match — $2,800 courtside seats, $200 for valet parking — Laker fans now understand what’s going on and are on board, for however long it takes … to date, anyway.

Clipper fans now pay more for courtside ($3,000) and live with the mantra the Lakers used to:

Nothing counts but the playoffs.

The Lakers stand to lose 50 or more for the fourth season in a row and still their fans come out … 99.7 percent of capacity last season … 98.3 percent of capacity the one before when Kobe played 35 games.

Happily for the new coach, Luke Walton, his name as chanted by a crowd means no one could tell if fans are booing or chanting, Luuuuuuke! Not that it matters any more. Laker fans no longer head-hunt whoever’s unlucky enough to be coaching.

Lakerdom was a black hole for whoever was in charge, from Mike Brown to Mike D’Antoni to Byron Scott. D’Antoni got the perfect storm, scorned for everything he did as an outsider/former Pacific Division rival, starting with his Phoenix offense that he ran instead of Jackson’s triangle.

Two years after leaving, D’Antoni was back as Houston coach to see Walton make his debut … running D’Antoni’s offense that Golden State coach Steve Kerr copied.

Laker fans began chilling out the last two seasons, even as the team cratered with Kobe coming and going and Scott trying to run his Old School system that worked fine with Jason Kidd and Chris Paul with Russell, Lou Williams and Marcelo Huertas. Byron was Laker Family so fans were nice enough to confine their discontent to grumbling among themselves, rather than calling for his head.

Now, finally, there’s a fit: A young coach who’s Laker Family, running a modern system. And, of course, no Kobe.

On opening night people kept asking GM Mitch Kupchak if he was nervous or excited. Kupchak said he was feeling something else, how strange it felt to be without Kobe for the first time in 20 years.

With Kobe, no matter how old he was, came expectations, no matter how absurd they were, after a career of willing teams to success. Jackson returned for his second tour in 2005, thinking the raggedy Lakers could still challenge for titles if they could make the playoffs, after which Phil thought he and Kobe could find a way to beat anyone in a best-of-7 series.

Now, finally, for better and worse, no Kobe, no expectations.

Of course, with no expectations, the TV audience has dwindled dramatically. If fans have chilled, I doubt that Time Warner executives have, paying $3 billion over 20 seasons.

Starting season No. 5, Time Warner has shown one playoff appearance — the 4-0 sweep by San Antonio in the first round in 2013 with Kobe hurt, Dwight Howard getting ejected in his Laker farewell and Tim Duncan caught on video laughing as Dwight stomped off.

That seems as long ago as when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Now it’s all about D’Angelo, Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson, all legit prospects en route to becoming good players. Of course, returning to greatness means one or two have to become not merely good players but stars, which means more than scoring 20 a night, right, D’Angelo?

“We’re building toward being great again,” Walton said before the opener, “and I think we have pieces here that can make that happen.”

Actually, they had better get some more pieces, including one who’s a really good playmaker. Their best bet now is to use their youth, depth and energy to turn games into free-flowing exercises and outscore opponents, as they did with the high-scoring Rockets.

A two-game win streak, counting Kobe’s farewell last season! Unbeaten for the first three days of the NBA season!

Sit down, buckle in and enjoy the ride for what it is because it’s just starting.

Mark Heisler has written an NBA column since 1991 and was honored with the Naismith Hall of Fame’s Curt Gowdy Award in 2006. His column is published weekly for the Southern California News Group throughout the NBA season.